An alliance on Thursday called for the immediate shut down of the International Rice Research Institute for allegedly failing to help the country become self-sufficient in rice production even after 50 years of the institute's existence.

The Philippines" cloud seeding program will continue to be implemented even though one-fifth of all attempts have been successful, the Bureau of Soils and Water Management said. The agency remains "duty-bound to implement the program as long as there are requests for cloud seeding," said Lilian Naga, the agency"s water division head.

Prices of prime commodities such as rice, chicken and fish would likely remain stable in the second quarter, with ample supply despite an El Niño-induced drought, the Agriculture department said on Thursday.

A private prosecutor in the parricide case against cult leader Ruben Ecleo, Jr. is looking at the possibility of hiring the services of another independent cardiologist to check whether the health condition of the accused is indeed dangerous, as testified to by his doctor.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Department of Education once again signed a Memorandum of Agreement that would enable IBP to provide legal assistance to public school teachers who will be facing legal suits in relation to their duties, especially during elections.

(Updated 11:16 p.m.) The Comelec on Thursday said that it is considering three options on how it can regulate political ads that promote more than one candidate in the May polls, since its rules have clear-cut limits only on the airtime of individual candidates and political parties.

Resolution 8758, which contains the rules and regulations implementing the Fair Election Practices Act, restricts a national candidate to only 120 minutes of broadcast ads on each local and cable television channel and 180 minutes on each radio station for the whole campaign period. A local candidate, on the other hand, will only be allowed 60 minutes of ads on television and 90 minutes on radio.

Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal admitted however that the poll body did not anticipate the proliferation of ads that promote the candidacy of more than one candidate.

"I believe the assumption [is] it's per candidate but now what's happening is several candidates appear in one ad," he said in an interview with reporters.

To resolve the ambiguity, Larrazabal said that the poll body is thinking of three options.

One option, he said, is to count the exact exposure time of a candidate in each combined advertisement.

Another is to equally divide the total airtime incurred by the ad, while the third option is to charge to the political party all the airtime incurred by its candidates, Larrazabal explained.

The poll body official said that he will meet with other officials on Friday to discuss the matter further. But he added that if it were up to him, he would prefer to just divide the total time of the ads among all the candidates who appeared on it.

"For me, equal na lang, kung i-divide mo mas madali para sa lahat (If you ask me, we should just divide it so that it will be easier for all of us)," he said.

Larrazabal said that Comelec will first have to wait for the broadcast networks to report on the airtime bought by candidates. He noted, however, that the reports will be submitted only by June 30, when all the election winners shall have been proclaimed.

According to the group Pera't Pulitika (Money and Politics), presidential candidates Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party), former President Joseph Estrada (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino) and Sen. Benigno Aquino III (Liberal Party) have used more than half of the 120 minutes allowed for television airtime. (See: Villar has most TV airtime so far - poll watchdog)

The period monitored was from February 9 to March 9.

In another study by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, the campaign expenditures for TV, radio and print of just six of the ten presidential candidates have already amounted to more than P2 billion. (See: Over P2B worth of pol ads before campaign period)

This was from November 1, 2009 to January 1, 2010, or over three months before the campaign period officially started on February 9.

The campaign period will run from February 9 to May 8 for national candidates and March 26 to May 8 for local candidates.

Despite this, Larrazabal said that those found to have violated the campaign rules will still be punished accordingly. Candidates should still follow the law even though no one has been punished yet for overspending on their campaign ads, he added.

Violation of the campaign rules may constitute an election offense, which is punishable by one to six years imprisonment, disenfranchisement, and disqualification from holding public office.

Those opposing the Supreme Court's decision that allowed President Macapagal-Arroyo to appoint the next Chief Justice still have ample time to submit their motion for reconsideration, a court official said Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines - One of the authors of the 1987 Constitution on Thursday said the Supreme Court erred in its decision granting President Arroyo the power to appoint the next Chief Justice despite the ban on midnight presidential appointments.

With more than a month before the elections, administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro will be making himself more visible on television and heard on radio with a barrage campaign advertisements to start either this weekend or early next week, his spokesman said Thursday.

Lieutenant General Reynaldo Mapagu, newly-appointed commanding general of the Philippine Army, said there was no plan to extend President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's term of office beyond June 2010, and denied there was such a thing as "Oplan August Moon."

Verzosa earlier said he would not support Lieutenant General Delfin Bangit, who was recently appointed as chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, if his actions would help ensure the extension of Arroyo's term.

A top official of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) has called for the full enforcement of a 14-year-long peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The Philippine Army has arrested a member of the Abu Sayyaf group involved in the kidnapping of six members of the Jehovah's Witnesses about eight years ago, the military announced today.

The suspect, Burrong Rasul Barro, was arrested by the 300th Air Intelligence Security Group shortly after disembarking from a passenger ferry at the Zamboanga City pier in yesterday, said the Air Force spokesman Gerardo Zamudio.

Zamudio said Barro, who was positively identified by a government witness, is suspected of being involved in the 2002 kidnapping of the six victims, two of whom were beheaded.

The government has put up a reward of P350,000 for the neutralization of Barro, who is known to operate in the Zamboanga-Basilan-Sulu area. He is listed No. 64 in the government's list of wanted Abu Sayyaf personalities.

"He is described by the army as a slippery criminal who has been eluding law enforcers by shuttling back and forth between Basilan, Zamboanga and Sulu," Zamudio said.

A Quezon City judge has thrown out a petition filed by a state prosecutor to stop the Commission on Human Rights from investigating the Armed Forces of the Philippines for allegedly violating the rights of 43 health workers arrested recently on charges of rebellion.

MANILA, Philippines – The brother of 7-division champ Manny Pacquiao and several other Filipino boxing contenders will figure in overseas bouts in the coming months.

Bobby "The Sniper" Pacquiao is making a comeback since taking a 2-year hiatus from the sport. He will face a still unnamed opponent in the undercard of the "Philippines versus Rest of the World", scheduled on April 9 at the Dubai Tennis Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Michael Jordan became a basketball star at North Carolina. Now he'll try to turn around the state's money-losing NBA team by becoming the first ex-player to be a majority owner in the league.

(UPDATE) Popular TV host Kris Aquino admitted that she had a sleepless night and even recited the rosary twice on her way to this province controlled by the family of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Dayro, 28, has been identified by witnesses, including the victim's sister, as the one who shot Neri at the Dumaguete Quezon Park while she was supervising a practice for a Miss Gay contest last month, a report on Visayan Daily Star said.

Dayro and Roldan Cantina Navarro, 40, were arrested earlier for the killing of one Roberto Zamora in Sta. Catalina, last March 10.

The two were brought to the Provincial Prosecutor's Office Wednesday for the filing of the murder charges.

While there, witnesses positively identified Dayro as the one who also shot and murdered Neri last month.

The intelligence community in Dumaguete said it has been monitoring the activities of the gang of five operating in the southern portion of the province.

The artist's sketch of the face of the suspect done by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group also matched that of Dayro.